Clare Gallery at Hartford Parish Marks 20th Anniversary

PHOTO BY KAREN A. AVITABILE The exhibit “Watershed Journeys” was most recently on display in the Clare Gallery. The exhibit included paintings by Diana Rogers, an artist from Connecticut. “The waterways connect all who live in New England,” she said in the artist statement. “I feel a deep kinship with the Connecticut River and the surrounding watershed. In this exhibition, I add a visual voice that celebrates the beauty and character of the waterways and calls attention to the need for continued care and stewardship of this vital natural treasure.”

Story by Karen A. Avitabile

In its 20th year, the Clare Gallery in the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Parish in Hartford has been focusing on exhibitions that emphasize its themes of world religions, interfaith and social justice on a local or global level.

On many occasions, the gallery tries to create partnerships with other ministries within the St. Patrick-St. Anthony Parish faith community, the Franciscan Center and the city of Hartford and beyond. 

For example, the gallery is used as a center for parish events including coffee-and following Sunday Masses once a month, religious education classes and a 365-day a year sandwich ministry. 

“The Franciscan Center is the hub of parish life,” says Patricia Curtis, who helped form the gallery. She currently serves as staff liaison to the Clare Gallery and a pastoral associate of St. Patrick-St. Anthony Parish. “The Clare Gallery embraces people in the St. Patrick-St. Michael faith community.”

The purpose of the gallery is to promote the arts with exhibits that educate and inform all who enter the facility. It is supported by St. Patrick-St. Anthony Parish and fundraising events. Most artists donate a portion of their proceeds from the sale of artwork on display to the gallery. 

“I think we are providing a unique opportunity for artists to show their work, and the audience to be impacted by it and to participate in it,” says Nancy Wynn, who played an integral role in starting the gallery and currently serves as its chairwoman. “We feel it has provided interesting cultural experiences for the past 20 years.”

Wynn recently authored a book, Graceful Partners, Art and Spirituality, that documents the gallery’s history, shares essays about exhibition content, provides information about the gallery’s name after St. Clare of Assisi and includes community impact statements. 

The book also explains artistic connections to the gallery’s themes and offers a large variety of artistic practices, media and interpretations. A book launch, author talk and signing was held last month in the gallery.

“We wanted to celebrate the 20 years with an artifact that would be easy for people to understand,” Wynn says of the book. Proceeds from the sale of books purchased in the Franciscan Center are being donated to the Clare Gallery.

Past exhibits have included: portraits; paintings; photography; quilts; visual artwork and poetry combinations; artwork highlighting the concept of sacred space; and personal interpretations of the stations of the cross. Works by Connecticut artist Jill Vaugh will be on display Sept. 5 to Oct. 20.

Artists interested in exhibiting at the Clare Gallery can download an application on the website. On average, an eight-person volunteer committee reviews the applications and organizes the exhibits. A lecture, discussion, workshop or reception with the artist usually accompanies the exhibits.

“The Clare Gallery is interested in the backstory of the artist,” Curtis adds. 

The not-for-profit Clare Gallery is housed in the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Parish, 285 Church St., Hartford. The gallery is open Mondays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sundays, 9 to 11 a.m., and additional times for special events. Admission is always free. Parking is available directly across from the church, with free ticket validation upon exiting the gallery. For more information, call 860.756.4034 or visit spsact.org/clare2.